It is been alleged by Mumbai Police that popular rapper Badshah confessed to have purchased Youtube views for a whopping amount of Rs 72 lakh in order to set a world record for most views in 24 hours. The video in question was for his song “Pagal Hai”.
Badshah has been summoned by the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) in association with the investigation into a bootleg creating and selling fake social media followers and ‘likes’ for ‘influencers’. The investigation came up when singer Bhumi Trivedi found her fake profile on social media. She had filed a complaint that someone had created a fake profile of hers and were getting in touch with other celebrities with similar offers.
Deputy commissioner of police, Nandkumar Thakur, told Mumbai Mirror, “The singer confessed that he wanted to set a world record for most number of viewers in 24 hours on YouTube. That is why he paid Rs 72 lakh to this company.”
According to news agency PTI, Badshah has denied the claims. He said, “Following the summons, I have spoken to the Mumbai Police. I have aided the officials in their investigation by cooperating and carrying out the due diligence on my part. I’ve categorically denied all the allegations levelled against me and made it clear that I was never involved in such practices, nor do I condone them.”
Reportedly, the CIU is said to be deeply looking into the case which is said to have international consequences. As of now, the Police are looking into at approximately 100 Social Media Marketing firms along with 54 portals across India.